Rage 2 Review Roundup

Rage 2 is nearly here, almost nine years after the first game launched. The long-awaited sequel’s release date of May 14 has been a long time coming, but the PS4, Xbox One, and PC shooter will be in players’ hands very soon.

We know Rage 2’s DLC roadmap, and we know the game is getting some interesting Twitch features. And thanks to Rage 2 reviews going live just recently, we now know whether the game is any good.

In GameSpot’s Rage 2 review, for example, Michael Higham awarded the game a 6/10. He said the game contains a “variety of clever, destructive abilities [that] make combat a blast,” but also an “underwhelming narrative and bland characters.”

You can read a selection of critics’ verdicts below. Alternatively, for a wider view on critical opinion, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

GameSpot — 6/10

“Rage 2 is at its best when you’re given the chance to keep up a gratifying momentum in combat, but struggles to set up the scenarios its combat deserves. It’s satisfying in the way clearing out an open-world checklist is, especially because powers are such a joy to use. The disappointment comes from the fact that those activities are rudimentary in nature and the decent ones end well before you get your fill.” — Michael Higham [Full review]

Game Informer — 7.0/10

“For all of its attempts at garish glitter, Rage 2 is a muted, cliché, and uninspiring experience that’s propped up by spectacular shooting and neverending battles that sometimes live up to the promise of a carnival of carnage.” — Daniel Tack [Full review]

VG24/7 — No score

“The interplay between the AI, your abilities, the physics of the world, and your guns is some of the best I’ve seen, and I never thought I would be saying anything like that about a sequel to Brown Shooter: Apocalypse. There’s much more to this than its kooky, pink-hued marketing campaign. If you sleep on it, you’re sleeping on one of the best–if not the best–single-player FPS games of this generation.” — Kirk McKeand [Full review]

GamesRadar+ — 3/5

“Rage 2’s core combat feels so much like Doom in an open world, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s exactly what this was–developer id Software testing the waters for such a concept. But were that concept ever to be made real, it will need to be executed much better than this. The Rage 2 roadmap has already been revealed, showcasing world events and wasteland challenges in an effort to follow in the footsteps of successful games like Destiny 2 and The Division 2, but the difference is that this is a single player game. Anyone who purchases this game on launch is undoubtedly expecting a full release, rather than a relatively empty world that will be later populated with content under the guise of the ‘Games as a Service’ industry trend. There is no reason for so much content to be time-gated. Were everything that is planned to arrive in the coming months, there’s a chance that Rage 2 could have felt like a more complete package at launch–a game that has content to complement its excellent weapons and core action. Sadly, that isn’t the case and the result is a sequel hasn’t impressed me all that much at all, but it won’t be laid to rest until the roadmap comes to a close for a game many people will have grown bored of.” — Ford James [Full review]

IGN — 8.0/10

“With its large open world and vast array of upgrades to earn, Rage 2 feels very much like an antidote for Far Cry fans who have overdosed on that particular style and want a new take on the large-scale shooter-RPG idea. Though Avalanche hasn’t quite figured out what makes a world feel alive and dynamic or how to make good use of its vehicles, it absolutely nails the moment-to-moment combat thanks to a Doom-inspired energetic pace that few shooters manage to pull off. Combined with a steady stream of great weapons, abilities, and upgrades, its firefights are constantly reinvigorated even as mission objectives become repetitive.” — Dan Stapleton [Full review]